


Something Like Hope

by buzzbuzz34



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Aromantic, F/F, Platonic Relationships, Queerplatonic Relationships, The Magnus Archives Femslash Week, princess in a tower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22059568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buzzbuzz34/pseuds/buzzbuzz34
Summary: Daisy is a princess, locked away in a tower because she was cursed to become a terrifying beast each night until she finds her true love.  But romance isn't in the cards for Daisy, so she resigns herself to a fate within four small walls, until Basira rescues her and helps her find a different kind of love that can still break the curse.
Relationships: Basira Hussain/Alice "Daisy" Tonner
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18
Collections: The Magnus Archives Femslash Week 2019.5





	Something Like Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Written for TMA femslash week take 2 on tumblr! Today's prompt was Fairy Tale.

Daisy had heard the sounds of combat from the many floors below her, and now the door burst open to reveal a heavily armored knight. Ash coated their sword and their armor was dented from the fighting. So many traps and mystical warriors lined the halls of Daisy’s prison, partially to make sure only the worthy were able to enter. 

But mostly to make sure that the beast within never got out.

“Princess,” the knight said as they knelt just inside the threshold, removing their helmet. “My name is Basira Hussain, and I have come to rescue you.”

“You did very well,” Daisy admitted with a forced smile. She hated this part. “But I’m afraid you made the trip in vain. I cannot be saved.”

The knight hesitated, then warily stood and cast her eyes around the room, brows creased in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“Surely you know of the curse upon me. Each night I am to turn into a beast, a monster, intent on hunting and killing all it can find, until I find true love.”

Daisy watched as Basira’s eyes hovered on the heavy chains affixed to one side of the room. That area was barren save for the restraints Daisy used on herself each sunset, to keep the beast inside of her from wreaking excess havoc, while across the room was a desk, chairs, a bed; the accoutrements of a normal life. 

“But why do you say you can’t be saved?”

“I don’t love,” Daisy stated flatly. “Not the way these curses are written.”

Basira cocked her head to the side as she continued to not understand, and Daisy continued. “All these spells speak of romance, of a love I don’t experience. I’ve never-” She paused and interrupted herself. “I’m sorry. Do you want to come in? Take a seat. I can get you something to drink. You must be exhausted. I know the trials below are exceptionally difficult.”

“I appreciate it.” Basira sat as delicately as was possible in full plate armor and accepted the cup of water Daisy handed to her. Daisy felt her eyes linger on the thick scars that lined her wrists from where the chains had marred her skin. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand, though.”

“If I don’t love in the romantic sense, the curse can never be broken. I am to remain a beast. The safest place for me is here. I’m sorry you came all this way, fought through each test just for me to send you away, but it’s the safest thing. Other knights have come, seeking to be the lover I needed to break the curse, but it’s not something I can give.”

Basira took a long sip of water. “Why are you here? If others have made it through the trials?”

“Because it’s not safe for me to be outside of these walls. I won’t hurt anyone. Not again. And the curse cannot be broken. So, I was placed back here.”

“Listen, Princess, with all due respect: I didn’t come here because I expected you to love me,” Basira admitted. “I came because you don’t deserve to be locked up here. You’re not a beast. And regardless,” she added hastily as Daisy attempted to cut her off, “there’s no way you can find love within these four walls. I get romance isn’t a thing for you, and there's nothing wrong with that. But you can love other things, and people, just not in the romantic sense. And you definitely aren’t going to find out if you stay cooped up here.”

Daisy bit her lip and paced along a well-worn track of floor. “I don’t want to put anyone at risk. I understand what you’re saying, but the monster I become at night… I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“We can figure that out. Hopefully without chains.” Basira stood and held out a hand to the princess. “Come with me. We’ll find a way to break the curse, even without romantic love.”

Daisy eyed this stranger, unsure of what to do. She could still taste the blood on her lips from the last time she’d escaped the tower at night…

But Basira was right. Whatever the type of love, she would never find it atop a tower. If there was a way to break the curse, she had to leave to find it.

Hand in hand, they climbed the steps of the tower and exited through the battle-torn remnants of the mechanisms meant to protect the Princess and protect her surroundings from the Beast. 

The first few weeks were tough. Daisy took to restraining herself with chains again in the basement of Basira’s home to keep herself from hurting anyone, from slaughtering the entire village. Eventually, they found some sturdy enough building supplies and shore up the stone and the wooden door so that Daisy could roam free in the small space without the metal cutting into her like it had so many times before. It wasn’t ideal, but it was something. 

During the day, Daisy finally had the freedom to do what she wanted, even though she had no idea what that was. She tried everything she could, carpentry, farming, magic, _anything_. As a knight, Basira taught Daisy how to fight, how to protect herself without relying on the monster inside her. Even though Daisy didn’t plan to stay with Basira for long, she couldn’t bring herself to find a new home, not even when she knew there were more opportunities out there, more things to try and explore. 

One afternoon, as she watched Basira sharpen her sword – an old thing, passed down through her family for generations – Daisy finally realized why. Basira had _saved_ her, in more ways than one. That tower was a prison, and now, after so many years of wallowing in the future the curse had set out for her, Daisy had the chance to be free.

And it was because of Basira. 

If that wasn’t a kind of love, she didn’t know what it was. It didn’t feel like the storybooks, but she knew that she wouldn’t leave Basira, she _couldn’t_ , and she would never want to.

In an instant, a pale shimmer passed over her skin and her veins pulsed with the opposite of the fury she felt when the Beast overtook her, something calm, something like hope. 

“Daisy!” Basira cried, charging across the room as she noticed the visible change in her appearance.

And then, as quickly as the shimmer came, it left again, but the feeling of hope remained. Daisy met Basira’s worried gaze and smiled.

“The curse is broken.”

“What? That’s what that was?”

Daisy nodded, and Basira beamed. 

“That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you!” Basira engulfed Daisy in an embrace that she eagerly reciprocated. 

Crying into Basira’s shoulder and holding her tight, Daisy murmured, “It’s because of you. I love you, in my own way.”

When they broke apart, clinging to each other’s hands, Basira was still smiling and her chest shuddered. 

“I love you too. I don’t know in what way, and I don’t know if it matters, but I do.”

Daisy smiled. “I guess love really was out here, for both of us. In _our_ own way.”


End file.
